The Monday Morning Wash

How long has it been since any of us have seen that dominant of a Husky victory?

How important was it for guys like Nick Montana, Bishop Sankey, Micah Hatchie, James Sample, and Tom Tutogi...etc... to get a full quarter of live Pac 12 action under their belts?

You want to build quality depth? Get your young players on the field to gain experience in the fourth quarter.

Don James used to do that back in the day quite a bit. He was pretty generous with playing time once a game was decisively decided. Steve Sarkisian's Huskies are getting close to being at that level in his third year at the helm. It was good to see them beat a team they were supposed to beat in such a convincing manner.

Washington soundly trashed Colorado in every single phase of the game on Saturday and it was fun to watch. This is a team that is visibly getting better every week and they better be because next up is 6th ranked Stanford on the road in Palo Alto.

Knocking off Andrew Luck and company is going to be a tall order. Stanford is a solid football team that knows how to win. This is going to be a great test for both teams which will serve as a pretty accurate gauge of where these two programs are currently at.

The Huskies popped into the rating this week at #24 but nobody is going to take them seriously until they knock off a highly ranked team in a game that matters in the second half of the season. This weeks game definitely qualifies since it is a conference match-up that could decide a Rose Bowl berth.

Steve Sarkisian described his team last week as a mountain climber that was achieving new heights with every step. He said the challenge is to not look up or down but to keep the focus on the next step. This team has been doing exactly that.

Vegas opens with the Dawgs being 20 point underdogs to the Trees. If you like to gamble on football games they are just begging you to bet the house on this one. Washington can compete with Stanford. Washington can beat Stanford.

So how tough is Stanford? Bud Withers of the Seattle Times has a pretty good idea. Stanford has won 14 games in a row which is a school record. The Cards have held their last 12 opponents under 20 points. Stanford has won its last nine games by at least 25 points

Ted Miller of ESPN thinks that Washington is ready for a big test. Interesting factoid...neither Washington or Stanford have beaten a team with a winning record in 2011.

Rivals/Yahoo asks why Washington can't steal the division title away from the two presumed favorites?

SPNW reports that the 2011 Huskies have become the first team in school history to score 30 or more points in the first six games of a season.

Pac Ten Power Ratings

1. Stanford...Stanford started slow against Washington State but took care of that with a dominating second half which buried the Cougars. The 6th ranked Cardinal get their first real test of the season when 5-1 Washington visits this weekend.

2. Oregon...The Ducks are mortal and they still have a couple better teams than ASU left on the schedule. Kudo's though to them for pulling away for the victory without LMJ and Thomas in the lineup. Next up is hapless Colorado on the road.

3. Washington...The Huskies are off to a 5-1 start. After a sputtering start the Dawgs have matured quickly and put together three quality conference wins in a row. We find out exactly how good this team is on the road this week in Palo Alto.

4. Arizona State...The Devils gave the Ducks a game but they didn't have the staying power late in the game when it really mattered. Chances are decent that there will be a rematch at the end of the year in Eugene. Up next is a perfectly timed bye week.

5. Southern California...The Trojans are coming back after a week off to face traditional rival Notre Dame in South Bend. This should be a close game between two programs headed in opposite directions. The Trojans need to develop a defense if they expect to beat the Irish.

6. Utah...Solid win for the Ute's on the road against Pittsburgh evens their record at 3-3 and helps keep bowl hopes alive. Next on the schedule is a trip to the Bay Area to play a slumping California team.

7. California...It really mystifies me why California is playing so bad. There is plenty of talent on this team but for some reason the offense isn't productive and special teams play is terrible. Tedford's seat is starting to get hot and if this team wants to bowl Utah is one of teams they need to beat.

8. UCLA...The Bruins face off on the road against Arizona in one of the stinkiest Thursday night match-ups of the season. A win in Tucson means the Bruins are 4-3 which puts them in a good position for some sort of bowl which would probably save Rick for another season.

9. Washington State...The Cougs were respectable for a half against Stanford. This week is Oregon State at home which is an absolute must win for the Wulff regime.

10. Oregon State...I really thought that the Beavers would beat BYU and much to my surprise they didn't really get close. They travel to Seattle for a true battle of the basement this week against Washington State.

11. Arizona...The Wildcats fired their head coach heading into the bye week. This week they attempt to knock off UCLA at home. The Bruins are as bad as the Wildcats in some ways so this could get interesting.

12 Colorado...I like a lot of things about this team. You can tell that they are well coached and have some good schemes and game planning. What they don't have is enough talent and depth. The only way that gets solved is out on the recruiting trail. Up next are the mighty Ducks and a third straight clown stomping.